


5 Year Leave

by makingitwork



Series: Chase/House [46]
Category: House M.D.
Genre: :), Another drabble, Faked Death, Happy Ending, House Being House, I feel bad for Cuddy, M/M, but then again neither am I, for House and Chase, love ya, slightly AU, the diagnoses is not at all medical, these tags are useless, this hospital could get the crap sued out of it, you know what to expect with this series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-06
Updated: 2014-09-06
Packaged: 2018-02-16 09:26:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2264493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/makingitwork/pseuds/makingitwork
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>House fires and breaks up with Chase.</p><p>5 years later, a wombat with haircut is admitted to the hospital, with a disease that could kill him in less than a month. </p><p>Guess who he wants as his doctor?</p>
            </blockquote>





	5 Year Leave

**Author's Note:**

> Prompted by Roxy!   
> x

 

"You're fired."

Chase blinked, staring at House before laughing "W-what?"

"Volger needs me to fire someone...you've...been there the longest, you've either learnt all you can or nothing at all, either way...you're fired." He was trying hard to keep the sympathetic tone out of his voice, but he couldn't keep it from glinting in his grey eyes. Chase stared at him, shock settling into handsome features and long blond hair as he absorbed the information. He was still in his surgical scrubs, he looked like he _belonged._ And truthfully? House didn't want to fire him. But his other two ducklings had spoken. Foreman thought he hadn't appreciated the job, and Cameron had been irritated by his constant sucking up, though truth be told, her own reasons were slightly hypocritical.

Chase took a step back. "Well...right." He whispered, nodding, a small sort of acceptance crossing his face, and that was something House had always admired, Chase's ability to bounce back. Time to break that down too, he supposed internally with a sigh.

"And...I'm breaking up with you."

"What?" Chase exclaimed, eyes wide "But-but our job has nothing to do with our rel-"

House raised his hands to get Chase to shut up, which the young Australian did indignantly. "You'd grow to resent me, I'd grow bored of you because I wouldn't be able to see that pretty little brain of yours at work. So...I'm breaking up with you. I already moved your crap out of my apartment." Chase flinched as though he'd been struck, and House felt a little bad about that.

"My _crap?"_ Chase repeated, a little dully, but he nodded. "Right. Awesome. So fired and dumped on the same day, by my boyfriend."

"Don't call me that."

Chase's blue eyes flickered up to House, wide and disbelieving. _Hurt._ He looked incredibly hurt. But he nodded, and walked out. He didn't look back, not even once, and House turned his gaze dully over to his computer, feeling as though he'd made a huge mistake.

...

...

...

5 YEARS LATER

"Could you all for 2 seconds, not be idiots? Would that be too hard for you?" House snaps. Foreman and Taub sigh, while 13 returns her gaze back to the patients file.

"Instead of yelling at us," she snaps back "Why don't you actually tell us what's wrong, if you know?" the brunette sighs, when Wilson rushes into the room, the four of them look up at him, but Wilson's only staring at House, wide eyed and breathless.

"You gotta see this," he whispers, and then runs out. The four of them look at each other before rushing after him. He goes right into a patients room, and House freezes, Foreman stiffens, and 13 and Taub stare in confusion.

"What?" 13 frowns "He's just another patient."

But he isn't.

That's Robert Chase, lying in a hospital bed, propped up by soft pillows, he's awake, but he looks tired. Incredibly tired, in a hospital gown. He's cut his hair, that's the first thing House thinks, it's still thick, and blond and beautiful and ever so slightly spiked in the middle, clean shaven, same bright blue eyes. He's hooked up to an IV, and some guy that House doesn't recognise is sat beside his bed, holding his hand. Looking perfectly like the worried stricken partner. Chase smiles. "Hey House, you're looking good."

House stares at him, before shaking his head "You cut your hair." He states dumbly and Chase laughs, albeit a little weakly.

"I see you still have that keen eye of observation."

Foreman and Wilson smirk a little to themselves, before 13 grunts in confusion. "I'm sorry, but who the hell is he?"

"Oh," Wilson murmurs apologise "This is Chase, he...well he used to work for House, in fact he did for a good 3 years, hired right out of medical school, the very first member in House's very first team. He was....well-"

"Fired." House shrugs, watching Chase's expression, but the blond doesn't flinch or seem worried, he just strokes a thumb over the guy sat at his bedsides hand.

"Why did you fire him?" Taub asks curiously, and Foreman shoots House a warning look, which the older man ignores.

"I was ordered to fire someone to cut costs. I asked the two other members of my team at the time, Foreman here, and Cameron, who now works down in ER, and they both chose to vote him off the island."

Taub stares at him. "But...why?"

"Well, Foreman over here thought Chase was a spoilt brat who didn't deserve the position." Foreman hung his head in shame, shooting Chase an apologetic look "And Cameron didn't like the fact that Chase kissed the ground I walked on. You know how it is."

"But when it came down to it, it was your call, House," Chase said softly from the bed, smiling "You didn't want me anymore. So you fired me and dumped me on the same day, why are you hiding the truth from them? I've never seen you embarrassed about something before. Unless you want to try and pass me off for a drunk one night stand," he turned to look at the current team, a little smugly "I was the longest relationship he ever had. We moved in together."

13 and Taub give a little gasp of shock, while Foreman and Wilson sigh as they remember the relationship. It had been difficult to pull House and Chase away from each other at first, and the two would frequently go missing, only to reappear hours later with their clothes and hair ruffled. House glared at Chase. "I just didn't want to make your new boyfriend uncomfortable,"

"The name's Marcus," the handsome brunette called from Chase's beside "And I'm not his new boyfriend, I'm his fiancé. I proposed a month ago."

House gritted his teeth together "Well, isn't that fantastic." He picked up Chase's chart which hung on the edge of the bed and glanced over it, frowning "That's a lot of symptoms." He looked around "Who's treating you?"

"Why do you think I'm here, House?" Chase sighed "I've been to hundreds of doctors, no one can tell me what's wrong with me. One thing they all agree on," he turned to look at Marcus "I have less than a month."

...

...

...

House looks at Chase’s symptoms on the whiteboard, and taps the lid of the red marker against his lip “So…shortness of breath, failing right lung, leg muscles weak, pain around joint, and the tendency to faint.”

Taub looks at the file “It looks like he was abused as a kid.”

“Mom was an alcoholic, had probably beat him when he was young, before clearing out. Obvious daddy issues.” She turns to House, eyebrow arched “Is that why he was attracted to you?”

House sighed, waving his cane about exasperated “Why is it so hard to believe that a smart, good looking, young Australian doctor fell for me?”

Foreman, 13 and Taub all stare at him blankly.

“He told a lot of good stories,” comes a soft voice from the doorway, and the four of them turn to see Chase, sitting in a wheel chair, though he can walk, it hurts too much to do so. A blanket is draped warmly over his shoulders, and he looks so young, so weak. He winces as his pushes on the wheels to force himself inside, and Foreman stands, as though to help him, but Chase dismisses him with a slight of hand. He glances at the board I was considering a brain clot. The left legion controls lungs and leg muscles. And any clot in the brain would cause blackouts.”

House drags his eyes away from Chase with effort, and looks at the white board “You should have experienced hallucinations by now.”

“Not necessarily. Only 80% of cases report hallucinations. Or I might not even be aware if I had any if it happened during a black out.”

“Huh.” Taub frowns “He _is_ good.”

House glared at Taub “I wouldn’t have hired him if he wasn’t.”

“You wouldn’t have fired me if I was.” Chase reminds tiredly, wheeling himself over to the kitchen counter, and House feels as though he’s been struck to the core. He _never, never ever_ wanted Chase to think that. Never wanted his boy- ex-boyfriend, to think that he’d been fired because he wasn’t good enough. Chase had always been perfect, had always exceeded expectations. Always. Everyone watches as Chase struggles to his feet, a little shaky, but stable, and he pours himself some coffee, turning, leaning against the counter and taking a sip. “Are you gonna start treatment?”

House turns to his team “Any better ideas?”

13 presses her lips together “Deteriorating motor function, could be a muscle infection, causing them to wean away, started from the brain.”

“Look at him,” House snapped, pointing at Chase “He can still walk and talk.” He rubs his temples viciously “Get the treatment ready.” He orders, and the three of them rush out. Chase arches an eyebrow at House once they’re alone.

“Well that was harsh.”

“You were always good enough.” House says suddenly “I never fired you because you weren’t good enough.”

Chase blinks, and a small smile creeps along his face “I was _joking,_ House.” He grins, eyes sparkling, but then his voice becomes serious and adoring “I’ve missed you, you know,”

House turns and walks away.

…

…

…

The treatment does well. Really well. Chase was right, and House thinks, a little forlornly, he almost always was.

But House needs Marcus out of the picture, and after some (mostly one-sided) conversations with Wilson, he has a plan. He sneaks into Chase’s room while he’s sleeping, and injects him with a special type of drug. For about an hour, it’ll slow Chase’s breathing considerably, will drop his skin temperature, and stop any dreams.

He then proceeds to hook Chase up to a fake life monitor, and arranges it so that while Marcus is there, Chase appears to flat line.

House even hugs Marcus while he sobs. “Oh, there, there,” House pats his back “It was very painless.”

“I loved him-“ choke “So much-“

“Yes, yes, now why don’t you fly back to Australia and spread the word to all your friends?” House knows he doesn’t have to worry about Chase’s family. They’re all dead anyway.

When Wilson finds out, he’s absolutely appalled, and House nearly has to knock him out to keep him from telling Marcus the truth. “How do you expect me to compete with him?” House cries, anger and sadness rising with his voice “I can’t compete with a young, good looking guy, Wilson! I need an edge!”

“Your _edge_ can’t be pretending to kill off the prize in this sick game you’ve got going on! What happens if he finds out? If he threatens to sue the hospital?!”

House shrugs. “Sounds like a Cuddy Problem.”

…

…

…

Chase wakes up, and _smiles._

Because nothing hurts or aches, in fact, everything feels absolutely fine, and he wants to get up and out of bed, but as he moves to sit up, someone pushes him back down onto soft white pillows. “House!” Chase almost cheers “It worked!” And Chase is a little stunned, because this was his theory, his first theory, but he’d never voiced it to anyone but House. But then again, House was brilliant.

House runs his fingers through Chase’s hair, and the younger doctor looks up at him with wide eyes. “I want your crap back in my apartment.” Is all he says.

Chase stares at him, wondering if maybe he isn’t cured, and the hallucinations have finally arrived.

“I faked your death and sent Marcus back to Australia.”

“ _You what?!”_

House half smiles “You surprised?”

Chase sits there, absolutely stumped for a moment. Before he laughs. Laughs. Because yes, while he’d liked Marcus, they’d never been soul mates, rather just convenient counter parts. Marcus had tricked himself into believing he loved Chase, but as time went on, so would those feels deteriorate, very quickly. “I can’t believe you did that.” He says finally, shoulders shaking. House smiles. Fully, this time.

“Is that a yes?”

“I don’t know, why do you even want me back? I could be completely different now. I might have changed.”

House shook his head fondly “You haven’t changed.” _You’re still mine. Still my Chase._ “And there’s a spot on the team for you, right after I fired 13.”

“You’ve changed.” Chase says quietly, kissing House’s palm as the older man caressed his face “I like it.”

Wilson sighs from the doorway. _Trust House_ , he thinks to himself, _to always get his way._

**Author's Note:**

> Don't worry Bilingual_Me , next one up is yours!  
> x


End file.
